shamisen at this time. In August 2001, Bergstrom, Shoji Kameda, and Masato Baba performed in Japan, bringing together three-fourths of On Ensemble before the inclusion of Michelle Fujii. Shamisen training and natori Recalling hearing about Japanese music styles of nagauta, gagaku, and noh as a kid, Bergstrom looked to study shamisen as something more traditionally Japanese than taiko. In order to learn the shamisen, Bergstrom searched for a teacher in the Hakodate phonebook in spring of 2000. He found Kineya Katsuyukie from the Kineya school of nagauta shamisen. In the first meeting between Katsuyukie, Bergstrom said he wanted to better understand the concept of "ma" in Japanese music. While studying Bergstrom developed a close relationship with Katsuyukie similar to that of the traditional uchi-deshi apprenticeship system for Japanese arts. While he did not live with her, he performed chores and took lessons in the early morning before and after work. Bergstrom received his natori for shamisen on November 8, 2008. He was one of few musicians in the United States honored with a natori. His natori is Kineya Katsukoujyu. Bergstrom continues to study with Katsuyukie, as a natori does not signify an end to studying under a teacher. On Ensemble and contemporary taiko Bergstrom currently resides in Los Angeles. In addition to performing, he teaches workshops on taiko. Artistic influences Taiko studies Kris Bergstrom has trained with various groups throughout his career in kumidaiko. He began his study through joining Stanford Taiko in college. While in Japan, he studied for a time under Kobayashi Tarou, a student of an original member of Oedo Sukeroku Taiko. In addition, he took lessons at the Nihon Taiko Dojo from 2001-2. Taiko instructor Bergstrom is well regarded as an instructor in the North American taiko community. His work as a taiko teacher can be seen through On Ensemble's educational outreach. As a taiko instructor, he has written a study aid to taiko practice called "30 Days to Better Shime". At the 2009 Taiko Conference, he released Taiko Games 2009, a series of games he created about taiko. Copyleft philosophy Bergstrom is a strong believer in the concept of copyleft, where creators encourage sharing and collaboration. He was attracted to the idea after learning of the free software community. Bergstrom uses free software for his administrative and creative work for On Ensemble. Under similar principle, his taiko teaching aids and all of his compositions are